


An Understanding Heart

by ryekamasaki



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-09 22:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10423413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryekamasaki/pseuds/ryekamasaki
Summary: A collection of ficlets for Daichi Rare Pair Week!





	1. Day 1: Seasons / Injury / Same team AU

Just into February was a time far too cold to be sweating like this, to be working oneself up so much only to have to venture back out into the winter temperature. It’d been a terribly frozen day already, and it would only feel worse once they were all warmed up and limber. Daichi could hear Suga complaining in his mind from across the net, and Kuroo, on Daichi’s side, laughing back at him, the both of them being far too distracting for Daichi to properly pay attention to the game they were supposed to be playing. And while it was supposed to be a casual game, most of them were far too enthusiastic about the sport to go any sort of easy when playing.

It was this combination of things that caused the current predicament. Daichi, distracted, and Asahi’s far too powerful spike, nothing that could be called ‘casual’. Daichi’s determination to be at his best, trying to receive a ball that he should have let go. Tanaka and his tendency to get underfoot at the least helpful of moments, including on the court. The ample audience spread out along the sidelines, mostly made of former teammates, amusing themselves in various ways as they wait their turn to switch onto the court.

It’s really a catastrophe that could have been avoided, but couldn’t ever have been predicted. Daichi misjudges how far Asahi’s spike throws the ball, and backpedals quickly to try to successfully attempt a receive. Tanaka rushes around behind Daichi, ready to try something to recover the ball, and the various shouts reach them both too late to be of any help. Daichi feels himself collide with another body, and manages a half turn enough to see Tanaka tumbling off into the sidelines, where someone else is walking, and then Daichi hits the floor.

The next thing Daichi knows, he’s laid out on the hard floor, staring up at the ceiling, blinking away the darkness and trying to calm his pounding head. Suga is kneeling next to him, and when Daichi turns his head towards him he can see someone else on the floor next to them. Suga’s voice is mumbling comforting words in his head, and Daichi watches as Tanaka sits up and shakes his head. He looks extremely confusing, looking around with an uncharacteristic furrowed brow, and a few feet away seems to spot something that shocks him.

Daichi looks toward the same spot and sees Yaku there, clearly having been pushed over, and the flash of confusion on his face is almost immediately overrun by one of excitement, which isn’t anything Daichi can really say he’s seen so well on him before. He jumps up and yells about how short he is, and that’s when Daichi knows something is very, very wrong. Tanaka looks stricken, and he stares at the textbook lying face down on the floor at his feet, looking for all the world like he’s trying to solve a particularly hard algebra problem, even though the book is for one of their magic classes.

After they figure out that no one is dying or bleeding or concussed they all sit down and try to figure out what exactly happened. It takes a bit to get Yaku to calm down enough to sit, and he only does so nuzzled into Daichi’s side, but they manage, and then they get to work. Apparently Tanaka had gotten in Daichi’s trajectory, and when Daichi had tripped on him he’d sent him flying into Yaku, who’d been practicing one of the spells for their advanced magic class while waiting for his turn to play.

They hadn’t yet figured out what exactly had done it, whether it was just a misspoken incantation, or a hand motion, or the mixture of the two broken potions that Yaku had had in his bag, or even a strange combination, but for the time being Yaku and Tanaka have switched bodies. Daichi sighed and directed a thought at Kuroo, practically begging him for some headache medicine and preferably a new group of less troublesome friends. Kuroo laughed as he wandered off, though he wouldn’t tell anyone else why.

As ‘Tanaka’ and ‘Yaku’ start a rousing discussion about who knows what, Daichi has a feeling that he’s about to be dragged into something big, something possibly life changing, and he’s not sure whether he should try to run or just accept his fate. Watching ‘Yaku’ running around the gym, crowing and flinging his slight frame around after stray volleyballs that come his way, and having ‘Tanaka’ quiet and contemplative as he reads over a passage in the textbook, settled calmly in Daichi’s lap like an overgrown cat, Daichi knows that he’s going to help his friends any way he can.

Hopefully what doesn’t kill him will make him stronger.


	2. Day 2: Stars / Memes / Modern fantasy AU

By the time that Yaku, still occupying Tanaka’s body and curled up in Daichi’s lap, determines that whatever happened isn’t in his textbook, Daichi’s legs are very firmly asleep. He doesn’t really mind, but it does make it considerably harder to keep up when the next stop to figuring out what happened and how to fix it is across the campus. Suga laughs himself into a doorway when Daichi stands and stumbles like a newly born fawn, and Kuroo is grinning unabashedly as he hooks a hand around Daichi’s elbow to steady him.

Their little group treks off toward the health clinic on campus first, item one on the agenda to make sure that there won’t be any adverse effects of staying in their switched bodies until they can figure out what happened and fix it. The nurse there looks conflicted, partially like she sees this kind of thing everyday, and partially amazed at the problem they’ve managed to wrangle themselves into. She doesn’t have any advice for them, but she does say that it’s very unlikely that anything bad will happen if they have to stay the way they are for an extended amount of time.

The next stop is the school’s affectionately nicknamed Department of Magical Fuckups, and on the way both Suga and Kuroo peel off from the group, Suga to class and Kuroo off to run errands before heading back to his and Suga’s dorm room. Daichi sighs as he watches Tanaka and Yaku walk ahead of him, each of them familiar but also strange in the way they used their own mannerisms in the others body. Daichi has never seen Yaku quite so bouncy, and Tanaka walked slowly and and a tad wobbly, like his legs were a couple of inches longer than he was used to.

It wasn’t very hard to accept that they really had switched bodies. The attendant they met in the Department of Fuckups only took a couple of minutes to be convinced, and then they had to go through physicals all over again, plus a bunch of magical tests as well. Unfortunately none of the usual spell reversals worked (although one gave both of them a fit of giggles that took ten minutes to wear off) and even the more unusual counter spells had no effect that they could see. They consulted a few more books, tested a number of magical stones, and even one memorable five minutes of them hugging, though Daichi was almost positive that was only for the attendant’s amusement.

When they leave it’s starting to get dark, and the last stop of the day is to the most proficient potion makers in the entire school, their last resort and only remaining hope of fixing this without spending the next twenty years buried in the huge school library. They’re barely a block away, Daichi in the lead as they approach the makeshift shop, when Daichi hears the first voice echoing out into the rapidly approaching night and has to suppress a sigh.

“Here comes dat boi!” Hanamaki stops whatever it is he’s doing outside to speak.

The second voice comes from just inside the shop, still loud enough for them all to hear, and Daichi tries his hardest to hide the grin threatening to crack his face. “O shit waddup.”

Hanamaki meets Daichi after jogging a few feet and throws his arm around Daichi’s shoulders easily, smacking a kiss to Daichi’s laughing face. Matsukawa emerges from the door to the shop, lazy smile in place as he waves and copies Hanamaki, pressing a kiss to Daichi’s other cheek. Daichi pushes them each off with a hand, and then they look back to find Tanaka and Yaku, and they know from the way Daichi’s expression shifts that he’s there for business and not pleasure.

It doesn’t take long after they actually get in the shop to explain the situation. Yaku has to keep pulling his own body back away from the shelves, stocked with various jars and bottles and boxes of who knows what while Tanaka tries his hardest to reach up and inspect things he probably shouldn’t be touching. Daichi watches Matsukawa and Hanamaki split up and start looking through different books and scraps of paper, heads tilting toward each other so often, an obvious sign of them talking mentally.

After a while they come back, each with a weathered piece of paper in hand, and they look at Daichi very seriously. Yaku and Tanaka finally come back to the counter, and then the potion makers tell them how they can fix their problem. The only issue is that the potion they need to brew requires a few hard to acquire ingredients, and someone will have to go get them. Neither Tanaka nor Yaku are in enough sorts to do it, what with being in unfamiliar bodies, and so Daichi resigns himself to his fate.

He reads over the papers they’ve brought, tries to recall how hard to get the ingredients they don’t have are, how hard they might be to get. He’s thinking about all the new information, staring out the window,  watching Yaku and Tanaka wander off to the dorms in the dark night when someone walks up behind him. “Daichi, you know what’s cute?” Matsukawa grins at him and turns toward the starlit sky, unusually bright for the night.

Daichi nods solemnly. “Ah. Yes, yo-”

Hanamaki pops up without warning on Daichi’s other side. “Me, Daichi.”

“What.”

“I’m the cute one, Daichi. Mattsun can shove it.”

Daichi turns to look at Matsukawa’s pouty face and can’t help the laughter. He presses a kiss to Matsukawa’s cheek, and then, at the mock whimper from his other side, Hanamaki’s as well. They grin and give each other that look he recognizes, and then they both squish him in a hug at the same time. He has a journey ahead of him, that he knows, but at least right now things are just as they always are, warm and comfortable and amusing.


	3. Day 3: Colors / Video games / Sport swap AU

The first ingredient that Daichi had to find was seemingly easy to acquire. It was even in town, though the actual method of getting it may or may not be difficult. Daichi wasn’t sure where anyone had gotten the idea to use a nekomata’s fur in magical potions, but they did, and now Daichi had to go get some. He hoped it would be as easy as asking for a bit, but he wasn’t that hopeful, to be honest.

Lucky for him, there was a nekomata that went to their school as well, someone that one of Matsukawa’s people knew, and from what Daichi heard he was quiet but nice, content to keep to himself. He was also a tricolor nekomata, which was said to have the most potent fur to use in potions, if you managed to get a bit of each color at once to use together.

Daichi’s plan, he thought over as he stood outside of the apartment he was given the address to, was simple. Asking was the easiest and most effective method, so he would try that first. He’d heard that fighting and winning against a nekomata would give him the power to request something of his choice, so if he had to do that, he would. He was confident in his ability to be able to win a bit of wrestling or sparring, especially against someone that Daichi had heard was not exactly built for physical activities.

The person that answered the door, though, could not be who Daichi was supposed to find. For one thing he was very much built for physical activity, looking just as in shape as Daichi himself. For another he definitely wasn’t a tricolor nekomata. Daichi thought he was an inugami, and with his dark floppy ears and fluffy tail he reminded Daichi of a particularly gorgeous retriever. The little growl that he let out as he gazed at Daichi only cemented this thought in Daichi’s mind, and Daichi couldn’t help but to think that he was pretty cute, even if he was going for menacing.

A quiet voice came from a bit further in the apartment. “Hajime?”

Daichi saw the dark black tips of pointy ears before anything else, and then, from behind the inugami’s bicep Daichi could see the tricolor nekomata he was supposed to be looking for. Now this person matched the description that Daichi had been given, slight even though he wasn’t short, unassuming with bright golden eyes that felt like they could see into Daichi’s heart. One delicate touch to the impressive arm between them had Daichi finally allowed to enter the apartment, though the inugami’s guard wasn’t let down at all, instead crossing his arms over his chest and glaring.

The apartment itself looked comfortable, laid out mostly with sprawling beanbags and cushions and blankets that had Daichi wanting to snuggle in and take a nap, right in the beam of sunshine that came in perfectly from a high window.

“I’m Kenma, and that’s Haji-”

“Iwaizumi. What do you want from us?” The glare from Iwaizumi doesn’t lessen, just bores straight through Daichi, and he has the feeling that even he can see things that nobody should be able to see.

Daichi figures he’ll stick to the plan, and hopefully asking nicely will be enough, and there won’t be any need for Iwaizumi to beat Daichi into a pulp. He straightened his shoulders and got straight to the point. “I need a bit of nekomata fur.”

“No.” Iwaizumi answers immediately, almost before it’s even fully out of Daichi’s mouth. The look on his face is suspicious, and his next question is slow and tentative, like he’s not sure he wants to bother with it. “What for?”

Daichi sighs and explains the situation, everything that’s happened and what they’ve learned, and how this potion is the only thing that they’ve found that will work to fix it, and how Daichi is the one who has to do it. For the sake of honesty he tells them his plan to get the fur as well, and they look considerably less suspicious by the end, though they also look like they aren’t going to just hand anything over.

After a minute of silence, Iwaizumi turns from looking at Kenma back to Daichi with a sharp grin, his fluffy ears perked atop his head. “You’ll play two games. Win both and you can have what you came for. Follow me.”

And then he’s turned and walking out the door, Kenma shaking his head gently and following along, forked tail swishing from side to side contently. Daichi trails behind them both confusedly, wondering what exactly is going to happen to him, if he’s just gotten himself in a situation he’s not going to make it out of.

Iwaizumi finally stops after they’ve gotten to the enclosed recreational part of the apartment building, and he swirls around enthusiastically. “You play a sport. Which?”

“Volleyball, mostly.”

A nod. “Okay then. Pick a sport that’s not volleyball.”

Daichi hums and considers. A minute after that they’re firmly involved in a one on one match, which Daichi wins by a sliver after almost fifteen minutes, he realizes as he checks his watch at the end of it. One game done, Daichi sighs and shakes out his shoulders to prepare for the next, but instead Iwaizumi just follows Kenma back into the apartment. Iwaizumi tosses a towel at him as he enters the apartment again, and by the time Daichi is done wiping himself down, Kenma is curled up in one of the beanbags, game controllers perched in his lap.

Kenma twitches an ear, and Iwaizumi nudges Daichi over to the beanbag that’s next to Kenma, clearly waiting for an occupant. One of the controllers is in his hands almost before he’s settled, and then the logo flashes onto the screen ‘Mario Kart’ in big, bold letters. They end up on Rainbow Road, which is supposedly difficult, though Daichi manages to win fairly quickly. It must be a surprise, though, because they both just stare at him, wide eyed.

Then Kenma is up again, and he comes back into the room with a tiny vial, into which he drops a small bit of tricolored fur that he plucks from his tail before handing it to Daichi. Then he plops back onto his beanbag and flops over into Daichi’s lap, where Daichi can feel the rumble of his purr against his thighs. Iwaizumi changes the channel of the tv, and then he’s leaning against Daichi’s shoulder, both of them clearly content to use Daichi as a pillow.

He pets gently at Kenma’s ears, and Iwaizumi hums in approval before closing his eyes, letting his tail thump softly against the floor. Daichi didn’t expect to find cuddles at the end of this particular bit of his quest, but he can’t say that he wants to complain. Having friends like this isn’t so bad, anyway. They drift off in the warmth of the bright yellow sunshine, and Daichi thinks he’s never had a nicer nap.


	4. Day 4: Pets / Valentine’s Day / Soulmates AU

Daichi was allowed a couple of days to get ready for the more complicated parts of the ingredient gathering, which was especially helpful when one of those days happened to be Valentine’s Day. While he and his two soulmates had a comfortable open relationship, they always made a point to spend the holiday just the three of them together for the day. This year was no different. Luckily for the other two, they shared a dorm room, so they were actually together even as they woke up, unlike Daichi, who not only had a different room, but a different dorm altogether.

It was still chilly when Daichi stepped out of his building, heading off campus towards their favorite little cafe to pick up something for breakfast. Of course, it being Valentine’s Day meant all the various goodies were as heart shaped as possible, and drenched in chocolate more often than not. Daichi got three generous orders of heart shaped pancakes to go, all drizzled in chocolate and topped with strawberries and powdered sugar, and steaming hot coffees to wash it down with and then made his way back out into the bright chilly morning, hands full.

He had one other stop on his way, and the bell above the door jingled merrily as he stepped inside the shop. He smiled at the shop owner, a lovely older woman who was more than happy to attend to Daichi’s request, and with astounding speed as well. He’d come in a couple of days prior, not even sure that it could be done in time, but she had assured him that she could do it, and now he was here to pick up the end result. They were perfect, and the woman grinned at the happy flush on Daichi’s face and wrapped everything up so that he could slip the gift in his pocket and be on his way before the food cooled.

The rest of the walk wasn’t long, and Daichi found himself unlocking Suga and Kuroo’s door in no time at all. He was saved the trouble of trying to wake them up, though, since they were both sprawled in one bed, lazily making out. They hardly broke apart to greet Daichi, too enamored with each other’s mouths to actually talk. Instead they whispered sweet, breathy hellos in Daichi’s head, taking advantage of their soulmate bond to converse and kiss at the same time.

Daichi deposited the food on one of the desks and stared sadly at them, but he couldn’t keep the pout on his face for long, and he finally gave in and just sat on the bed, pulling Suga away from Kuroo to kiss him himself. Once Suga was thoroughly kissed Daichi turned to Kuroo and did the same thing, until they were both just dazed lumps on the bed. They snapped out of it quickly when Daichi told them there was food, and after that they enjoyed their breakfast together before cuddled back into the warm blankets.

They lounged for a few hours, lazy and quiet, cuddled together, using their telepathy to talk instead of actually opening their mouths. There was a lot of kissing involved as well, and maybe a little more that Daichi lost himself in for quiet a while, well aware that he likely wouldn’t see them for at least a few days, if his journey went extremely well, or longer if it didn’t. It was sometime after their third or fourth round, Daichi couldn’t quite remember, that Kuroo slid out of bed and stretched, proceeding to get dressed.

He wandered out with a quick promise of returning, and Suga nudged Daichi into getting dressed again too. By the time Kuroo came back, a sizable box in his hands, they were fully clothed and kissing lazily again, peppering kisses over each other’s faces and necks and laughing. They separated when Kuroo returned, and Daichi looked curiously at the box that Kuroo placed gently at his feet. Kuroo opened it and reached in, and before Daichi knew it, was thrusting something black and scaly and alive at him.

“It’s dangerous to go alone, so take this.” Kuroo grinned, like he’d just said the most clever thing and not a quote from an old video game, and Daichi couldn’t help but laugh fondly at him, even as Kuroo settled the animal on Daichi’s lap.

It was a sleek little dragon, cat sized and, by the look of it, incredibly cat like as well. It blinked up at Daichi for a moment with it’s huge green eyes, and then proceeded to try to set Daichi’s hair on fire with a tiny little spark and a poof of smoke. Suga nearly fell off the bed laughing at him, and the dragon looked over at him curiously before flapping its wings and splaying out across Daichi’s broad shoulders. A giggle trailed behind Suga as he got up and crossed the room, coming back with a sturdily built messenger bag, clearly meant to be dragon proof and useful on his impending journey.

Daichi took a breath, stood and rummaged through his pockets to bring out his gift. Suga and Kuroo perched on the edge of the bed, and Daichi smiled at them as he opened the package. “Close your eyes.” They complied easily, and Daichi leaned down and tied a thin leather cord around each of their necks, giving them each a tiny kiss when he finished. “Okay. You can look now.”

He hardly had the sentence out of his mouth when they opened their eyes, gazing curiously down at the little sliver pendants hanging from the leather cords. Suga was the first to speak. “Dai?”

“They’re enchanted lockets. So we can see each other and talk even when we’re too far apart.” He held up his own, and Kuroo got off the bed to tie it for him.

“They’re gorgeous.” Kuroo’s voice was just a little rough, a clear indication of how much he was feeling. Suga hummed an agreeing noise, and he came around to hug Daichi, careful not to disturb the lazy dragon still on Daichi’s shoulders.

“They are. Thank you, Dai.”

After that the rest of the day was spent relaxing, tossing a sparkly toy for the dragon to play with while Daichi thought about what to name her. It was another wonderful Valentine’s with his soulmates, and Daichi was content and warm at the thought of the many still ahead of them.


	5. Day 5: Dreams / Road trip / College AU

Daichi wakes warm and cozy, even more so than usual, and it takes his sleepy brain a minute to realize that it’s because he’s wrapped up in strong arms, face pressed against a bare, sturdy chest. Asahi snuffles into Daichi’s hair and tightens his arms when Daichi shifts, and Daichi brushes kisses over Asahi’s collarbone in reassurance until his arms loosen again. He blinks his eyes open to see his dragon is taking up half of his pillow, snoring softly and letting out tiny little wisps of smoke with her exhales, perfectly comfortable with him already.

He muses to himself that he’ll have to think of a name for her, and she sleepily opens one green eye to glare at him, a clear ‘shut up I’m sleeping’ message echoing in his head, not unlike the way Kuroo and Suga usually do. Asahi makes a little noise when she irritatedly flicks her tail and tickles his nose, and it takes everything Daichi has not to burst out laughing at how cute it is. Daichi resolves to stop thinking for awhile, just nuzzles his nose back into Asahi’s chest and drifts back to sleep, comfortable and content.

The next time he wakes the sun is streaming in through the windows and Asahi is awake, gently running his fingers through Daichi’s short hair and talking to the dragon in a low, rumbly voice while she lounges upside down on Daichi’s pillow, her tiny tongue half hanging out of her mouth. Asahi’s fingers stop at the back of Daichi’s neck every few passes, scratching gently before doing it all over again, and Daichi considers letting the feeling lull him back to sleep again.

Unfortunately, he’s caught by his new companion, and she shoots out a little spark towards Daichi’s face that directs Asahi’s attention to him. Asahi smiles down at him, and Daichi knows that face, that relieved little smile, the almost undetectable tremble of Asahi’s fingers that tells Daichi that Asahi had another one of his dreams, which also explains why Asahi is in Daichi’s bed. The dreams aren’t usually bad, but they take something out of Asahi, and he tends to get nervous that things in them are going to happen in ways that aren’t necessarily good. Close contact with someone else typically helps to calm his nerves and latent magic again, and as roommates Daichi winds up being the comfort a lot of the time.

Daichi clears his throat and presses his forehead back to Asahi’s collarbone. “You wanna tell me about it?”

Asahi sighs and hums, putting his thoughts in place before he softly describes to Daichi what had happened in the latest dream. Apparently Asahi was worried over Daichi’s impending trip, even with his new protective companion, although the dream itself was almost pleasant. Daichi wasn’t too worried, knowing how the outcome of Asahi’s dreams usually comes out, and it actually pointed more toward reassurance that Daichi would get where he needed to.

He was also worried over the state of Daichi’s schooling, even though Daichi had already gotten himself excused from classes for a few days. He still had to go register the dragon as his familiar, but in order to do that she needed a name, which was the next important thing on Daichi’s pre trip to do list. He was just starting to consider names when there was a short knock at the door and Kuroo let himself in, textbooks in tow. He presses a kiss to Daichi’s cheek and then flops down on Asahi’s empty bed, getting to work.

Daichi sets to thinking, and for a while all that happens is Daichi saying a name out loud only to have her respond telepathically while Asahi listens and tries not to grin too hard at what everyone claims are his terrible naming skills.

“Valentine.” _Not on your life_. “Sparky.” _Are you kidding me._ “Nibbles?” _I will set all your socks on fire._ “Sugar Fairy.” Tiny dragon retching noises, which even Asahi and Kuroo can hear. Daichi can’t even count the number of rejected names they go through, and he takes a brief pause to think some more when a quiet, distracted voice reaches them form the other bed.

Kuroo is mumbling to himself as he reads, a habit that he has when he’s very into whatever work he’s doing, which Daichi still finds endlessly adorable, though hardly any of the words are actually audible. “Esmeralda.”

The dragon flips over suddenly, flapping her wings and yelling in Daichi’s head. _That one! That one is perfect._ Even Kuroo looks up at the commotion, confused and pulled out of the fog of his book, and the newly dubbed Esmeralda soars over to nuzzle against his cheek and then perch on his shoulders. Daichi sighs and wonders what was wrong with all the names he thought of. Asahi chuckles at him, and Daichi frowns, mock serious.

He uses the opportunity to get up, though, since he still needs to head to the registration office and then after that, pack up for the hopefully only few days that he’ll be off on the trip to collect the rest of the needed ingredients. Esmeralda rides along on his shoulders, clearly a lazy little thing already, and the familiar registration goes fairly quickly even with her puffing bits of smoke in Daichi’s view even few minutes, _for funsies_ , she says in his head, clearly amused.

Packing is easy as well, and Daichi is already fond of the new bag that Suga had given him the day before, sturdy and useful, and most of all, dragon proof. It’s a sort of road trip, he muses to himself, and he thinks that he won’t mind seeing the things he’s going to see, even if the trip and acquisition of ingredients is harder than he hopes it will be. He reassures himself by thinking of what Asahi told him of his dream, all good things, promising things that Daichi will keep in mind.

The next day is it, and Daichi goes to bed that night in a tangle of limbs, with Asahi close to reassure himself, Kuroo and Suga piled into Daichi’s tiny bed with them, determined to stay as close as they can until Daichi has to set off, and Esmeralda curled up contently on Daichi’s stolen pillow. It’s comfortable, and warm, and Daichi already can’t wait to be back to it again when his journey is done.


	6. Day 6: Distance / Rivalry / Superhero AU

The thing about rare potion ingredients, Daichi muses over as he climbs a hill, is that they tend to be hard to obtain. He got lucky with the nekomata fur, but the other things he knew wouldn’t be nearly as easy. This particular ingredient, for instance, is an odd sort of plant that only grows under and around boulders, but only in relatively shaded areas. This has Daichi climbing up to the foresty area of the nearest mountain, high above where most people hike and camp.

Which is why Daichi is confused when he hears a screeching ruckus from ahead of himself, where Esmeralda flew on, her tiny dragon growl bouncing off the close trees, and then a deep, rumbling voice murmuring in return. There’s another ferocious screech, and Daichi doesn’t know what it came from, but he does know that it’s not one of Esmeralda’s noises, at least not one that he’s heard yet.

“Es?” Daichi calls out to her, keeps walking as he waits for an answer.

_Daichi._ Her tone doesn’t tell Daichi anything about what’s going on, but it doesn’t really matter, because at that moment he passes into a small clearing where Esmeralda and a fiery feathered bird perch in opposite trees, making terrible noises at each other while a man (tall, dark haired and strong, from what Daichi can tell) murmurs quietly at them, presumably to get them to stop fighting. Daichi sighs and walks up to the tree that Esmeralda is in, holding out a hand to her, even though he knows she’ll likely just ignore him.

She does, just continues to growl at the bird, but the man beside him doesn’t, instead turning to Daichi with a serious face. “I apologize. Helios is usually more approachable. I am not sure why he seems to dislike your dragon.”

“That’s okay. She can be a handful.” Esmeralda turns to Daichi then, spitting out a tiny lick of fire as if sticking her tongue out, and Daichi laughs. “See?” He turns his head to address her instead. “Behave, Esmeralda.”

The man chuckles, and Daichi thinks about how nice the sound is, especially here in the peace of the forest, echoing gently off of the leaves around them. “My name is Ushijima. You are?”

“Sawamura Daichi. Just Daichi is fine.”

Ushijima nods and tilts his head to the side. “Why are you here?”

“Ah, I’m searching for a plant, an ingredient needed for a potion. You?”

“I am also looking for a plant for use in a potion.” Ushijima turns away from the bickering companions, away from Daichi, to look around the clearing before his eyes settle on something and he begins to walk away. The phoenix flaps his wings and follows, soaring across to another tree while Ushijima stops at the base.

There’s a few large rocks there, and Daichi wonders if they count as boulders, if maybe he might be able to find his plant up here. He walks over just as Ushijima crouches down and slips his fingers under the largest rock, lifting it easily from the ground.

“Holy crap.” Daichi’s spoken before he realizes it, and he blushes at the inquisitive look on Ushijima’s face. “You’re _that_ Ushijima. The super strong famous superhero one?”

Ushijima’s nose wrinkles the tiniest bit. “Yes, that’s what they say.”

Esmeralda takes that moment to fly over and drape herself across Daichi’s shoulders, still glaring at the bird in the tree above them. _He goes to your college’s biggest competitor, you know._ Daichi raises an eyebrow at her as best he can, mentally asks her how she even knows. _Kuroo was teaching me stuff. For funsies._ And Daichi can’t help but laugh at  how in the few days they’ve had her she’s picked up on Suga’s favorite phrase and adopted it as her own. _Do you know what that means, Daiiiiiiiichi?_

_No, Es, what does that mean?_ Daichi watches Ushijima put the rock back down gently even as he continues to mentally chat with her, rolling his eyes at the elongation of syllables in his name.

She squints up to the branches of the tree again, makes a tiny growl before she talks again. _He’s your RIVAL._

The phoenix ruffles it’s feathers and squawks again, and Daichi turns away to look for more rocks in the clearing before the two familiars can start another screaming match. There’s another patch of rocks a little distance away, and Daichi heads for it. He’s only a few feet away when something hooks around his arm and he jolts, nearly falling to the ground with the force. He regains his balance and stares dumbly at the hand in the crook of his elbow, large and sturdy, holding him back from walking any further.

Ushijima’s deep voice begins to explain before Daichi can ask. “You almost crossed into a fairy ring.”

“Oh.” Daichi blinks and remembers all the lecturing Asahi had given him before he left, a long tirade of things Daichi should and shouldn’t do, lost in the haze of sleepiness and Daichi’s experience with Asahi’s tendency to worry more than necessary. There was definitely something in there about avoiding rings of mushrooms and not eating anything in the wild, no matter how innocent it seems. He looks down at where his toes are just barely brushing against the tiniest fungi he’s ever seen, and he knows suddenly that they’re that small and unnoticeable on purpose. “Thank you.”

Ushijima just nods and lets go of Daichi’s arm, walks carefully around the nearly undetectable circle. Daichi follows, though he makes sure to walk even further away from the falsely innocent trap. They get to the rocks, where there are what Daichi would definitely call boulders, and Ushijima lifts them as easily as if he’s lifting a pebble. Daichi spots the plant he needs immediately, its stem twisted around another plant, and kneels in the dirt to extract it.

As it turns out, the plant twined with Daichi’s is the one that Ushijima has been searching for. By the time that they’ve separated them enough that they each have what they need, they turn to find Esmeralda and Helios laying on the ground only a few feet away, Helios flat on the ground with Esmeralda laying upside down on top of him, glee in her big green eyes when Helios lets out a sigh.

Daichi and Ushijima walk down the mountain again together, since Daichi’s next destination is even further from home, toward the great ocean on the other side of Ushijima’s school. The trek down is a little more lively than the one up, thanks to their familiars taunting each other and racing ahead, determined to try to out fly the other. Eventually they get tired and retreat to the shoulders of their owners, and Daichi waves goodbye to Ushijima with a promise to meet up again on his way back.

_You’re not very good at this rivals thing, are you._ It’s not a question, and Daichi just laughs instead of answering, continuing on his way.


	7. Day 7: Nature / Cooking / Merfolk AU

The sun rises bright on Daichi’s hopefully final day of this ingredient seeking quest, and there’s only one thing left, though he knows it will likely be much harder to acquire than the others had. He wakes in an exceptionally fluffy bed, Esmeralda curled on the pillow next to his head, its owner nowhere to be seen. There’s a note on the nightstand though, a little apology for leaving without saying goodbye, and an offer for Daichi to help himself in the kitchen before he goes on his way.

He takes his time, waking up slowly and wandering around picking up his clothes and getting dressed again, having a bit of fruit and bread for breakfast before he slips out the front door, making sure it locks behind him. The air outside is fresh and smells of salt from how close he is to the ocean, which is precisely where he has to head next. They head down to the beach, and Daichi finds a nice isolated cove to put his bag, which Esmeralda curls up on top of to guard, since she can’t accompany him (refuses to get within ten feet of water, really).

His locket gets tucked securely in a pocket of his bag, and he strips down to just his underwear before he follows the rocky jettison out to the deeper water, where he can dive straight in without worrying about the shallows. He doesn’t know how long it will take to find what he needs, and while he’s a fairly good swimmer, it wouldn’t be smart to strain himself and take too much time that he’ll need for the more strenuous swimming he still needs to do.

There’s two things he needs to acquire on this portion of the trip, and there’s no telling how hard it will be to get them. He needs a pearl, fresh from a clam in the ocean deep, and a scale from a mermaid, preferably in a blue color for maximum effect. The water is gorgeous, and when he jumps in, warm, soothing against his skin. He heads for the ocean floor, as deep as he can as quickly as possible, and looks around the ocean floor for what he needs. There are different fish everywhere he can see, and they don’t seem bothered that he’s plunged into their environment.

Just as he starts to feel the need for more air he catches sight of something shiny and round, just sitting up against what looks like a wall made of coral. It’s a beautiful pale pink pearl, just exactly what Daichi has been looking for, and he reaches out to scoop it up before he heads to the surface. He manages to grab it just fine, but then there’s a whoosh of water and a shadow above him, and he looks up into the point of an impressively crafted spear aimed right between his eyes.

His first thought is that it’s awfully pointy, and then he actually looks at who’s holding it, and almost loses the last of his air in a horribly timed gasp at the fact that there’s a mermaid in front of him. Well, he amends mentally, a merman, anyway. And an angry one at that. Daichi’s not sure what he’s done wrong, though, and the merman just stares aggressively, holding Daichi in place with his weapon. Daichi can feel his lungs start to burn, knows that if he doesn’t get up to the surface quickly he might actually die down here. He tries to gesture to the merman, to make it clear that he needs to get up to air, but he refuses to budge, and Daichi trying to move just results in him scratching Daichi’s cheekbone warningly with the spear.

Daichi is about ten seconds from passing out or inhaling water or both when there’s another rush of bubbly water and two more mermen appear in front of him, these ones without weapons. They must talk to the guard, but all Daichi can process is their waving hands, and the beautiful teal colored tail of the chestnut haired one as he starts to let his eyes close, ready to take a breath whether it’s all water or not. His eyes are just about closed when a face appears suddenly in front of his own, and then hands are gripping his face. It’s the second of the unarmed mermen, this one with two toned hair, mostly blonde, and Daichi doesn’t process anything more than that before the merman’s lips are on his own.

Then there’s a slick tongue between his lips, and then Daichi can breathe again, just like that. The merman backs away with a grin once he’s sure that whatever he’s done has worked, that Daichi isn’t going to just die right in front of them. The guard has backed up a bit, looking apprehensive, and both the unarmed mermen peer at Daichi curiously. Their intricate jewelry, necklaces and armbands and even tiny tiaras that Daichi hadn’t noticed before, glint in the sun that drifts through the clear water. They’re decorated with bits of coral and pearls, like the one Daichi still has clutched in one hand, and what definitely looks like scales, of varying colors.

The mermaids, Oikawa and Terushima, introduce themselves and then tell Daichi that he shouldn’t have just tried to take a pearl without going through the proper channels, which Daichi finds out to take days, even weeks. Luckily they seem like they like him, and after he explains what he needs it for, they manage to dismiss the guard and let him keep the pearl with a grin and a wink. He also mentions the need for a mermaid scale, and Oikawa plucks one (of his own, he says proudly) teal colored one off of his necklace, handing it to Daichi carefully. Daichi has barely blinked when he has Oikawa’s lips on his too, and Oikawa explains cheekily that it’s the fee.

After a bit they accompany Daichi back to the surface, back to the same rock that he’d jumped off of, and they make him promise to come visit. He agrees, but tells them it might be quite a while, with how long it takes for him to get here from his school. That’s how he finds himself standing in front of a magic shop in the town, apparently one of the places where there’s a teleportation spell in place permanently, which he can use to get back home in only a few minutes, unlike the trip out to the ocean.

The sun is just setting when he steps out of the portal into Matsukawa and Hanamaki’s shop, apparently a hub for the teleportation system, which he complains to them about for not telling him. They call the others to the shop, and then they set up a cauldron, meticulously adding ingredients to create the potion that they need. Suga and Kuroo show up with bags on their arms, and they disappear into the shop’s kitchen after pressing sweet hello kisses to Daichi’s cheeks. The potion is simmering when they come back out, and then Yaku and Tanaka are there too, and they share a welcome home dinner made of all of Daichi’s favorites while they wait for the potion to finish.

Luckily everything that Daichi managed to find was of high quality, and the potion comes out as close to perfect as anything made by Matsukawa and Hanamaki does (which, at least for potions, is actually perfect). It even smells nice, and Tanaka and Yaku have no complains when they drink it. It takes a few minutes, but eventually the two of them shake their heads like they’re coming away from a daydream, and then they both proceed to almost fall over with their first steps, no longer used to the length of their own legs.

Esmeralda flies around above them, swooping once in a while to playfully growl at someone before flapping back up out of their way, clearly having fun, before she finally settles down draped across Daichi’s shoulders. Daichi grins, laughs along with the others, and thinks about all the people he met on his journey, all the beautiful things he saw, and muses to himself that he might not mind so much having to go on an adventure every now and then.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come yell at me on [tumblr](http://ryekamasaki.tumblr.com/).


End file.
